Eden

by Eden (lit)

  “But why go to all that trouble just for one night?”

  “Who knows?” He shrugged and it caused her to shift position slightly. “The council doesn’t always make sense to me.”

  “Screw this,” Catrina said as she sat up again. “I need a night off. Enough business.”

  “I agree,” he said, his lips curling into another wicked smile.

  “Let me wash your hair,” she requested softly. “I’m sure it’s not what you had in mind, but I have wanted to run my fingers through your hair for five years. I’m not likely to get tired of it any time soon.”

  Viktor passed her the shampoo and his smile was nearly as warm as the water. He rested back against her and as Catrina massaged his scalp she asked, “So how is it that you’re so powerful? Do you know tricks that they don’t?”

  “Some, yes. But as to the power question, I was taught by the Count himself.”

  “Really?” She was obviously surprised. “But I thought you hated him.”

  “I do,” he answered honestly. “I hate his guts to this day. But I tracked him down and convinced him to teach me what he could. I told him that if I had to be a vampire I did not want to be a weak one. Something about the way I said that resonated with him. And yes I can do some things that the elders have only heard of.”

  “Such as?”

  “Not too much in one night,” he said, dunking back to rinse his long hair. “You can come back to me for lessons in vampire etiquette and culture another time.”

  “I know plenty about vampires,” she said firmly.

  “Knowing plenty about how to destroy them is not the same as knowing what makes them tick,” he corrected.

  Chapter Six

  Her hair was still damp when Catrina curled up against the vampire’s side later that night. She was nearly asleep when he whispered, “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For allowing me to hold you tonight with more than my eyes.” She looked up at him and the question was clear in her eyes. “Tonight can just be tonight,” he assured her once again. “Anything more is up to you.”

  “Does that mean that if I’m afraid of the monsters under my bed I can crawl into yours every now and then?” she asked.

  “Any time.”

  * * * *

  It was around three o’clock when she heard the strangest noise. Catrina sat up, pulling the sheet against her breasts.

  “Viktor,” she whispered, shaking the vampire. “Do you hear that?”

  “Yes,” he answered instantly and she jumped.

  “Oh, I forgot you don’t sleep at night,” she said. Catrina looked up toward the dark ceiling as she asked, “What is that noise? It sounds like the whole place is falling apart.”

  “It’s shifting,” he told her. Viktor sat up and propped back against the pillows as he explained, “The Palace shifts constantly. You can never find me the same way twice.”

  “Ah,” she said. “So, that’s why the fae have never found your resting place. Hey wait a minute. How exactly in hell am I supposed to get out of here?”

  “Calm down,” he said, laughing softly. “I haven’t kidnapped you.” He leaned over, stretching for the bedside table nearest him and reached for the drawer. “Wait a minute,” he said. After a pause he continued, “Nope, cross is in the other drawer. Here.”

  He handed Catrina an odd looking ring. It was large, gaudy, and gold. At first glance it appeared to be a mood ring, but upon closer inspection its magic was obvious. The small half globe which rested atop the ring swirled constantly with a dark red liquid. It looked almost like red smoke contained within the small glass.

  “What is it?” she asked, still examining the ring.

  “My blood. It’s how you’ll find me again and it’s how you’ll find your way out.”

  “How does it work?”

  “It’s simple, really. It’s how all the vampires who stay here find their rooms after the shift. Each room is blood coded.”

  “Blood coded?” she asked.

  Her brow wrinkled in confusion and it made Viktor smile.

  “I just love knowing something you don’t know,” he teased. “It’s like this. When anyone checks into The Palace, they are asked to give a blood sample. This sample is put into a thin strip on a card, much like regular hotels use. But, instead of using this card to swipe their door to get back in, it’s left in the room as well as in a safe near the front. Their blood calls to them, it’s how they find the room again and how they find their way out. When they leave, the card as well as any remaining sample is incinerated.”

  “But how do they open the door? Surely it’s locked while they’re gone?”

  “The door locks are coded to their hand print. They’re scanned at check in too.”

  “Interesting,” she said, snuggling back up against his side. “So, how come you get the big ring and everyone else just gets a card?”

  “Because I’m special. And because I invented the concept.”

  “But, how will you get back here if I have your ring?”

  “I have another one,” he explained. “It’s hidden somewhere in this room.”

  “So, you’re not going to tell me where it is?” she asked.

  “No, seriously, it’s hidden. I can’t find the damn thing, but it’s somewhere in this room.”

  She laughed and placed the ring inside the drawer which held her necklace. Catrina fell back asleep wondering if what she felt was just afterglow or if there was something more. Either way, she was certain that it would be fairly easy for her to become attached to Viktor. But she was too tired to consider her options at the moment.

  * * * *

  She woke again a few hours later and carefully disentangled herself from the vampire’s limbs. Though Catrina would have loved to spend the day just looking at him, she had work to do. And at some point, she would have to take a nap. Viktor’s lovemaking had really sapped her strength. She’d never experienced anything like it.

  After getting dressed and tucking the cross necklace back inside her shirt, she couldn’t resist brushing the hair back from his face one last time. Catrina checked to be sure all of her weapons were in place before picking up the ring Viktor had given her and heading for the door.

  It was too large for her to wear, so at first she held it in the palm of her hand. After struggling with the enormous iron door for several minutes she placed the ring on her thumb in order to get a better grip on the door. To her surprise, it moved easily this time.

  “It must be something to do with the ring,” she thought as the large ring slipped on her thumb and turned upside down.

  She made a fist to keep the ring from slipping off and found that it somehow guided her upstairs. She couldn’t explain it. It’s like her feet just knew where to go. Catrina wondered in what looked like circles to her. She didn’t remember any of the places the ring led her past, but lo and behold she ended up back in the lobby.

  “Good morning,” one of the young men from the day before greeted her. “Would you like some vitamin infused juice?”

  “No, thank you,” she said. About that time her stomach growled and Catrina realized she was starving.

  The young man smiled kindly. “Those who donate blood often find that it helps them to recover their strength,” he said politely.

  “Thank you,” she said. “But I didn’t donate blood last night.”

  It took a moment for reality to dawn on his pretty face before he bowed deeply and said, “Very well.”

  As she walked through the door into the early morning sun the heavily muscled guard said, “So nice to see you … again.”

  His meaning was clear. Catrina walked over to her bike as she asked, “Did you get hired for your commentary or just your muscles?”

  To her surprise he smiled. “No ma'am, I was hired for my muscle. The rest is just extra.”

  She threw one leg over the bike and as she put on her helmet she replied, “Nice to see you too … again.”

>   The guard’s laughter followed her as she pulled into traffic. The drive back home was pleasant enough. The sky was clear and the cool breeze which managed to slip underneath her helmet felt good. She had just slipped Viktor’s ring into her pocket and turned onto the narrow street which led to her apartment when something knocked her from the motorcycle. The force of the heavy object threw Catrina into the side of the building. If it hadn’t been for her helmet she might have lost consciousness or died.

  Her bike skidded to a stop a few feet away, relatively undamaged since she hadn’t been driving fast. She only had a moment to realize she’d been attacked before a big man with long brown hair hauled her to her feet. One look at his amber eyes and fangs let her know he wasn’t human.

  He shoved her roughly, knocking her back several feet as she spat, “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Allen Marks is my brother,” he growled.

  “How unfortunate,” she replied, snatching off her helmet.

  Before the werewolf could hit her again, Catrina removed the long silver Escrima sticks from her jacket. She dodged the hit, dropping to one knee as she cracked him over the back of the head.

  “Fucking bitch,” he roared.

  He threw a spinning backhand at her so fast that his arm became a blur. However, his eyes gave away the move long before his arm was in motion. If it wasn’t for his subtle clues, Catrina would not have had time to move away. She leaned back quickly, but he still managed to slice through a piece of her long hair.

  She screamed, rising to her feet quickly as she delivered an uppercut with her elbow. When she connected with his chin the werewolf yelped and Catrina was certain she’d heard something crack.

  She dropped into a low stance and when he came at her this time she hit him in the balls before breaking his kneecap and cracking him right in the middle of the forehead. However, the werewolf with all his strength only needed to land one good hit and that’s exactly what he did next. He punched Catrina in the stomach and she fell back, hitting the wall again. She fell to the ground, gasping for air, but still managing to hold onto her weapons.

  She could feel him breathing down her neck and was just about to pull out one of her blades when something snatched the werewolf back hard enough that he hit the opposite wall and bounced.

  “Alexander,” she gasped.

  The sound of her voice was so unexpected that he turned and the other werewolf nearly got in a hit. Alexander backhanded the smaller man, knocking him to the ground as if he were nothing. Before her attacker could recover, Catrina watched as Alexander delivered a vicious kick to his ribs, followed by a more intense beating than she had witnessed in some time.

  When he was finished, Alexander rose to his full height. Tendrils of his shoulder length blond hair fell forward, framing his face. His pale blue eyes seemed to glow slightly and reminded Catrina of an Alaskan Husky. He ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips as he approached her. It took Catrina a moment to realize he was holding out his hand. She had been too busy staring into those strange eyes.

  “Are you alright?” he asked. His voice was a deeper rumble than she had remembered from before. Perhaps the violence had brought out his beast.

  “I think so,” she said, transferring her weapons to her left hand in order to take the hand he offered.

  He was warm in both presence and temperature. His energy made her skin tingle as the warmth from his touch spread throughout her body settling unabashedly between her thighs. Once again, she knew that he could sense her reaction. But the man looked to be in his early thirties, surely he had figured out that he was attractive to the opposite sex by now.

  Still, Catrina was surprised at her own reaction after the night she’d had, because she knew she didn’t have the energy for anything besides falling asleep.

  He offered her a smile she couldn’t help but return before pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. Catrina watched as he walked a few steps away in order to get a better signal. He was wearing a pair of jeans that fit him as if they enjoyed it and a tight long-sleeved black shirt. The breeze carried to her the scent of his cologne and once again she was instantly wet just from his nearness.

  “Max?” Alexander asked. Apparently someone had answered. “I need you to pick something up for me,” he said. He proceeded to give directions to the narrow road where they stood. “Thanks. You can’t miss it.”

  She finally found her voice again and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  The way Alexander walked back toward her spoke of purpose and so did the look in his eyes.

  “I was just going to stop by and thank you for the information you gave me last week. I don’t think Allen Marks will be bothering my cousin or anyone else again for a very long time. I hadn’t counted on his brother not learning from Allen’s mistakes.”

  “That’s good of you, but you really didn’t have to thank me again,” Catrina said as she replaced the weapons to her coat.

  Alexander stopped to pick up the lock of her hair the other werewolf had managed to shear. “You might want to do something with this,” he said. Catrina watched as he ran the hair underneath his nose and his eyes rolled back. “You smell of sex and vampires. Long night?” he asked, smiling.

  “Very long,” she said, returning his smile once again.

  “I know the timing is a little off here, but let me buy you a cup of coffee,” he said.

  “Thank you, Alexander, but I’m really tired.”

  She took a step back and he reached for her.

  “How tired? Can’t wait just an hour tired?” he pressed.

  “No, not quite that tired,” she admitted.

  “Did he hurt you?” he asked, motioning toward the still unconscious werewolf.

  “Not too bad,” she answered honestly. “I’ll probably bruise, but I’ll live.”

  “So you’re not in a lot of pain?” he asked, his smile growing wider.

  “No.” Catrina took a deep breath and her stomach growled again. “Throw in a doughnut and I’m all yours for the next hour,” she said.

  “Deal,” Alexander agreed. “I’ll give you a minute to check things out upstairs if you like.”

  “Fine,” she said, turning toward the door with her key. “I’ll be right back.”

  Catrina checked to make sure all her doors and windows were still secure, changed her shirt, brushed her teeth, and was examining her hair when she heard someone screaming in the lift.

  She ran back into the living room to find Alexander recoiling from the silver lock. He had returned her Harley, along with the matching black helmet.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, running toward him. She removed the large silver chain and lock as quickly as possible and put them aside.

  “Nice security system you’ve got there,” he commented dryly as he pushed the motorcycle into the living room and parked it on the tile beside the door.

  “I’m really sorry about that,” Catrina said, “but you can never be too careful.” She walked over to examine the small scratches on her bike as she said, “Thank you. I’ll be just another minute.”

  She went back to the mirror and ran a hand through her hair again. It was so long and full she really couldn’t find the place where the lock had been cut. But that wasn’t the reason she kept standing in front of the mirror. Catrina leaned in close and stared herself in the face, “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Ready?” Alexander called down the hall.

  “Ready,” she answered.

  She found him standing beside the motorcycle in order to avoid the silver nails on the windows and the silver lock and chain which lay across from him on the floor. Catrina picked up another jacket on the way out. This one held fewer weapons, but she felt fairly safe with the werewolf. And as soon as she realized that a strange feeling came over her. She couldn’t quite place it, but being near Alexander made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Which made her conscience feel like shit. After all, hadn’t she just come from Viktor’s bed?


  She remembered the vampire lying against the crimson sheets with his hair spilling all around him and wanted to go back. But when Alexander placed his hand against the small of her back to lead her through the door, she wanted to go with him too.

  Chapter Seven

  By the time the waitress at the coffee shop brought over their order, Catrina had decided she definitely liked Alexander. It had nothing to do with his charm or his good looks, and everything to do with the way he made her feel. She tried to put out of her mind how much this would complicate her plans with Viktor and focused instead on enjoying the conversation.

  “So, why didn’t your cousin come to you in the first place?” she asked.

  “Angie was afraid I’d kill the guy. I do have a tendency to be a little overprotective.”

  “Of family?” she asked, stirring her coffee.

  “Of women,” he said. “I’m not trying to sound like a hero or anything, but I can’t stand to see some asshole abusing a woman. Arguing is one thing, but deliberately tearing someone down with your words is another. And don’t even get me started on physical abuse.”

  “Well, it’s nice to know I’m safe,” she said.

  Catrina took a sip of her coffee and decided it needed more cream. When she looked up Alexander had taken a sip of his latte and had cream on the end of his nose. She started laughing so hard that for a few seconds she couldn’t even breathe.

  “What?” he asked. “Did I do something?”

  She just shook her head and continued to laugh.

  “It’s just that I can’t remember ever seeing an alpha werewolf with foam on the end of his nose,” she gasped. “It’s kind of cute.”

  He smiled sheepishly and wiped the tip of his nose with a napkin.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, still snickering. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I haven’t had much sleep and I’m afraid I’m a little hysterical.”

  He reached over and took her hand as he asked, “Once you’ve had some rest, would you be entirely opposed to doing this again sometime?”

  “I can’t,” she said, looking down at the table and his hand. “I appreciate what you did today, I really do.” She paused, searching for the right words. “I hope you don’t think this is rude, but I’m pretty sure the man I’m dating would not want us hanging out together.”